one great thing about banco de gaia is that a new
album is released about every year or so. given their high quality this is
pleasing to fans who are used to waiting 3-4 years for more commercial artists
like enigma and deep forest.

medium (1991)

released in cassette format only, medium
was banco de gaia's first release. it is no longer available and has never been
released on cd. banco de gaia describes it as being a bit raw and unproduced in
areas.

some samples on here have appeared in later works.
the track data inadequete appears on the live at glastonbury
album.

freeform flutes
and fading tibetans (1992)

also released in cassette format only, freeform
flutes and fading tibetans is banco de gaia's second release. with
stronger tracks and production this album had a number of tracks appear on
compilations, including desert wind (which eventually became a single), lai
lah, and soufie. It is no longer available and has not been released
on cd due to sampling issues.

deep live (nov
20 1992)

banco de gaia's first live offering
comes from club dog at the george robey in london from december 1992. it
contains tracks from the first two albums plus the tracks here today and hard
head. deep live was
released in cassette only. it is no longer available and has not been released
on cd.

after three cassette-only releases on a
minor label, maya marked the
start of banco de gaia's commercial career. popular on the indie charts in the
u.k. it contains a number of tracks that banco de gaia plays live, and
a favourite track of his, marfich arabi. The singles desert
wind and heliopolis: the city of the sun
mixes were released from this album.

the second major release from banco
de gaia, last train to
lhasa, stands today as his most popular. with stronger production
this double CD focussed on issues to do with tibet. It also spawned the
singles kincajou, a much dancier effort
than people came to expect from Banco de Gaia, and last
train to lhasa. the album was also released for a limited amount
of time in the u.k. as a triple cd. the extra cd contained bonus
mixes.

banco de gaia's second live album, live
at glastonbury, primarily takes material from maya and last
train to lhasa. recorded in 1995 it also offers data inadequete from his first
album, medium. this is attractive to many people since this
album is rare and no longer available.

the
release of live at glastonbury was marred by legalities over one
track that marks was fond of. in the end it was not included. describing
this legal action marks stated "the singer was fine about it, as were the record company, but it turned out
that the original recording had been made by a production company... he bunged the price up by a couple of grand and
suddenly it was no longer financially feasible to do it. if i'd been allowed to
talk to him direct, then quite possibly we could have come to an agreement, but a whole series of managers and lawyers was involved.
the way it all worked out
was pretty unsatisfactory.".

the album can currently only be bought at banco
de gaia's official site.

big men cry (jul
18 1997)

a possible change in musical
direction is hinted at in big
men cry. it is described by banco de gaia as "a more pensive and mellow album overall than
previously, this one sits at the other end of the banco spectrum to live
at glastonbury, although it is certainly not groove-free".
through
the use of more live instrumentation, banco de gaia offered a diverse
album. to many people's surprise drunk as a
monk
got the attention of a dj, remixed, and became popular in the nightclubs.

the album can currently only be bought at banco
de gaia's official site.

the magical
sounds of banco de gaia (may 17 1999)

with a longer than usual gap in
between albums, the
magical sounds of banco de gaia shows a return to the expected
sounds of maya and, to a lesser extent, last train to lhasa.
marks describes it as "more like maya than any of the
others...the vibe of it, the energy - i actually reach 135 bpm i think.
that's a record [for me]." using toby marks' analogy from big men
cry, it is a return right
back to the live at glastonbury end of the banco spectrum! the
album also marks the start of banco de gaia's own record label, gecko. one single was spawned from this album:
i love baby cheesy, which was only released in the
u.s. and parts of europe. the track glove puppet re-appears with
vocals on igizeh.

making
up for the gap between earlier albums comes igizeh
a year after the magical sounds of banco de gaia. reminiscent of big
men cry in that it has a diverse range of tracks and greater use of
live instrumentation, the album was particular recorded in egypt. it is
also the first banco de gaia album to feature female vocals, and to
include a track previously released (glove puppet). the singles obsidian
and how much reality can you take?
were released from this album. the track glove puppet appeared in
instrumental form on the magical sounds of
banco de gaia.

banco de gaia's first 'best of' release, 10
years, celebrates 10 years of their music over 2 cds. compiled and
mixed it blends a mixture of known and easily found music with some more
rare and hard to find tracks. no new material is presented. it was first
released in a limited edition cardboard slipcase in the u.k..

only released locally in the u.k., 10
years remixed, offers totally new remixes of many banco de gaia
tracks. it includes remixes by eat static, asian dub foundaiton,
transglobal underground, dreadzone, and higher intelligence agency. many
tracks that didn't make it only this album can be found on banco de gaia's
official site.

banco de gaia's first ever single, desert
wind, offers the track of the same name from his second album plus a
remix of two tracks from maya - gamelah and shanti. banco de
gaia is quite fond of the shanti remix.

the single can currently only be bought at
banco de gaia's official site.

heliopolis: the city of
the sun mixes (oct 03 1994)

popular on the album maya, heliopolis
is actually "the city of the sun", a city of ancient egypt and the
center of sun worship during the pre-christian egyptian civilisation. thus the reference in
the single title. the single contains three remixes of the track, most involving
Andy Guthrie who co-produced the original version with toby marks. the single is intended towards
djs and also contains the album version.

the single can currently only be bought at
banco de gaia's official site.

last train to
lhasa (apr 10 1995)

released from the album of the same name, last
train to lhasa contains a radio edit and the album version. of most
attraction will be the extended ambient mix in which banco de gaia used a 3/4
sample in a 4/4 track!

the single can currently only be bought at
banco de gaia's official site.

kincajou (1995)

the first "two singles from one
album" award goes to kincajou.
already an upbeat track, its remixes were clearly aimed for the dancefloor, with
remixes by oliver lieb and speedy j.

vinyl of this single can currently only be bought at
banco de gaia's official site.

drunk as a monk (1998)

a u.s. dj vinyl-only release (ie. not a commercial
public release) drunk as a
monk
came as the result of the track suddenly becoming popular in nightclubs, thanks
to a remix by rabbit in the moon. the remix also made its way onto many popular
compilations.

i love baby
cheesy (may 18 1999)

only released in the united states
and parts of Europe i love
baby cheesy contains remixes by banco de gaia and the dub pistols.

the first single to incorporate live vocals, obsidian
utilised some popular remixers of the time in fluke and the light vs pfn.
the latter remix made its way onto many compilations, partly carried by
jennifer folker's appealing vocals.

the single can be bought at cd
now (also in vinyl) or amazon
in u.s. dollars, and amazon
in u.k. pounds.

how
much reality can you take? (jul 30 2001)

a limited vinyl-only release how
much reality can you take? utilised remixers juttla and jack
dangers (from meat beat manifesto), along with a banco de gaia remix.

what music videos have banco
de gaia recorded?

the only known music videos done at this time
are for soufie from freeform flutes and fading tibetans; last train to lhasa
from the album of the same name; i love baby cheesy from the magical sounds of
banco de gaia; and obsidian from igizeh.

soufie

details of this music video are not currently
known. it appears on a video compilation called future
shock.

last train to
lhasa

details of this music video are not currently
known, but are believed to focus on tibet.

i love baby
cheesy

details of this music video are not currently
known.

obisidan

this music video primarily focuses on toby in san
francisco as one of those buskers who dress themselves up with body paint
& fancy costumes, then stand perfectly still until sometime drops
money into a hat or bucket. at this point the busker moves for a limited
period of time and then stands still again. its funny to watch, and toby
looks like he had fun making it.

where can i buy banco de gaia
releases?

if you're
looking for newer singles, albums, and videos the internet can be a good source.
in the u.s. cd
now and amazon
offer good value &
service. in the u.k. amazon is also a good choice.
if
you're looking for older singles, albums, and videos my best recommendation is
to use the auction site ebay, or go to your local second hand stores and look.
go back regularly because
you never know what might appear. i personally have found many rare and
promotional items in my local second hand stores and ebay, including things that
were never released in my country. for this reason i cannot recommend them
highly enough.

note: using the links above help support this site through
commission earnt on any purchases you make from retail stores, or by joining
ebay. they have not, however, been chosen only for that reason!

what else can i buy of banco
de gaia's?

if the music is just not
enough for you a range of t-shirts are available from banco de gaia's official
site.

what live gigs have banco de
gaia done?

over the years banco de gaia has done a number
of live sets at places such as the glastonbury festival, womad, and
whirl-y-gig. in 1995 the guardian, a u.k. paper, commented on the
glastonbury festival statting that "there was one act
- and above all, perhaps, one single moment -
which somehow epitomises the reason why one feels glastonbury could last another
quarter-century yet... the packed crowd in and beyond 'a' marquee on the avalon
field burst
suddenly into a semi-devotional chant at a climatic moment during the set of the weekend: that by
banco de gaia, classified as ambient house
music."

there are too many live gigs for me to know
about, let alone list here. if someone has such a list please pass it on!

what dj sets have banco de
gaia done?

as with live sets, toby of banco de gaia has
also done a good number of dj sets, especially over recent years and
especially in the u.s. he is not necessarily a fan though, stating in 1998
that "i'm not a dj. to be honest, i find it a bit unsatisfying.
maybe after doing it for a few weeks i'll
have changed my mind.". given that he's still dj'ing today, it seems it may
still hold some interest.

if someone has such a list of all dj dates toby
has done, please pass it on!

what tracks have banco de
gaia remixed?

to date banco de gaia have remixed around a
dozen tracks by other artists. some have appeared on singles, and others
exclusively on compilations. they are below.

Artist

Title

Remix Title

Time

natacha atlas

yalla chant

latvian shade mix

wally brill

a loop in time

banco de gaia remix

06.20

hed

paul horn

karsh kale

distance

banco de gaia remix

08.07

l.s.g.

get out

banco de gaia remix

07.44

l.s.g.

netherworld

banco de gaia remix

the levellers

this garden

banco de gaia remix

06.38

sounds from the ground

mopti street

banco de gaia remix

karsh kale's single can be bought at cd
now (also in vinyl) or amazon
in u.s. dollars, and amazon
in u.k. pounds.